Weston A.

Price (1)

Paleo Dietary Guideline

Animal foods

Eat the whole animal, including the

meat, fat, organ meats, bones, cartilage
and skin including poultry and pork

Eat the whole animal from hoof to

snout, all meat, fat, organs, bones,
cartilage and skin

Meat

Should be pasture-raised for higher

levels of minerals, and vitamins,
especially fat-soluble vitamins and
minimal hormones, antibiotics and
other harmful chemicals; always eat
meat with the fat. If the meat is lean,
prepare it with added fat

Pasture-raised or wild game animals

are recommended because they forage
what they need from biologically
perfect food suitable to their needs.
They contain higher levels of nutrients
including fat-soluble vitamins and have
no added hormones. Animals that need
antibiotics are removed from the food
program

Organ meats

More important than muscle meats,

should be consumed frequently

Recognizes liver, kidney, and heart

from grass fed animals as some of the
most nutritious food available. Advises
against organ meats from CAFO raised
animals because of the diet, drugs, and
living conditions

Poultry

Always eat with the fat and skin; make

pate with the livers and hearts; eat the
gizzards also

Eat organ meats from organic free

range birds including heart, gizzard,
and liver, eat skin, fat, and both dark
and light meat

Pork

OK to consume when cured (bacon,

ham), marinated in an acidic medium
before cooking, or with a lactofermented food such as sauerkraut

Eat organically raised pigs without

synthetic nitrogen fertilizers; naturally
cured with salt, not chemically cured;
wood smoked or fermented

Seafood

Wild seafood, particularly shellfish,

oily fish, fish heads, fish liver oils and
fish eggs. Prepare seafood with added
fat. Eat the skin of the fish

Wild caught fin fish and shellfish; eat

skin, heads, eyes, and eggs

Raw animal food

All traditional cultures consumed some

of their animal food raw; so it is
important to include raw dairy, raw
meat, raw fish and/or raw shellfish in
the diet on a frequent basis

Raw foods were the mainstay of

prehistoric cultures before they learned
to smoke, ferment, or fire food. Eat
safe raw foods from all groups.

Eggs

Preferably pastured; emphasis on egg

yolks rather than egg whites

Pastured/free range eggs recommended

for their nutrient density, fat soluble
and other vitamins, carotenoids, lutein
and zeaxanthin; raw egg whites are
only 51% digestible, cooked about
90% (2)

Vegetables

Raw or cooked, always with added fat,

such as butter

Preferably organically grown; raw

eaten with fat or cooked with added fat
from olive oil, coconut oil, pastured
butter, or pastured animal fat

Fruits

Raw or cooked, some fruits more

digestible when cooked; add fat (butter
or cream) or consume in the context of
a meal containing fat

Organically raised or wild; raw, or

cooked with added fat from refined
oils, pastured butter, or pastured animal
fat

Grains

Recommended on the observation that

many healthy primitive and traditional
peoples included grain in their diets;
properly prepared to neutralize antinutrients and improve digestibility

No grains, based on the theory that

Paleolithic peoples had no grains in
their diet, and also because grains
contain various anti-nutrients

Legumes

Recommended; need proper

preparation to neutralize anti-nutrients;
consumed as a major source of calories
by many healthy traditional cultures
throughout the world

To be avoided; they contain antinutrients and digestibility is low

compared with other proteins from
animal or vegetable sources (3); not
strictly Paleolithic, but fermenting,
soaking or sprouting will make them
more digestible

Nuts

Good to include in the diet after careful

preparation to neutralize anti-nutrients

Allowed, even though nuts also contain

anti-nutrients (just like grains and
legumes) so should be consumed in
small amounts

Dairy

Should be raw, whole, full fat;

wonderful for growing children

Recommends raw, whole, full fat from

pastured animals

Butter

Consume liberally

Recommends butter from pastured

animals be used generously. If highly
intolerant to dairy, ghee can be used
instead of butter

Meat fats lard, tallow

Consume liberally

Recommends substantial amounts of

lard, tallow, and animal fats from
pastured animals

Fish liver oil

Recommended as a daily supplement

for vitamins A and D

Recommends eating wild caught fatty

fish

Fish oil

Not recommended; can overload the

body with omega-3 fatty acids and
interfere with arachidonic acid; human
requirements for omega-3 fatty acids
like DHA are actually very low

Recommends eating wild caught fatty

fish

Plant oils

No industrial oils (corn, soy, canola,

etc); olive oil and coconut oil allowed

Recommends consuming plant oils

(not cheap industrial oils) from
coconut, olive, avocado, as well as oils
from animal fats

Lacto-fermented food

Include with every meal

Recommends foods fermented without

an abundance of salt. To be avoided by
people with SIBO or histamine
intolerance

Bone broths

Consume liberally

Bone broths are consistent with Paleo

philosophy including bone, cartilage,
gelatin, marrow, ligaments, and
tendons for valuable elastin, collagen
proteins, myeloid and lymphoid stem
cells, amino acids glycine and proline,
and minerals

Vitamin D

Needs to be consumed as part of food,

in balance with vitamin A

Does not make recommendations for

supplementation one way or another;
recommends enough fatty fish and
sunshine

Vitamin A

Animal form of vitamin A vital to

health; vitamin A-rich foods need to be
balanced by foods containing vitamin
D. Precursors (carotenes) in plant
foods are a poor source of vitamin A
for humans

Does not make recommendations for

supplementation one way or another;
assumes enough grass fed meats eaten
with green and orange vegetables

Calcium

Best source is raw dairy foods; cultures

that dont have dairy foods made use of
bones (fermented fish bones or bones
of small birds and animals ground up
and added to food)

Beef, pork, lamb, bird, and fish bones

and raw or fermented milk and plants
are in keeping with Paleo philosophy

Protein

No more than 20% of calories

Recommends no less than 10% with

20% being optimal to avoid protein
toxicity

Fats

Can be anywhere from 30-80% of

calories, with saturated fat
predominating. When fat intake is low,
balance of calories needs to come from
carbohydrates (which the body can turn
into saturated fat)

Fats should be the main macronutrient,

with smaller portions of proteins and
carbohydrates

Saturated fats

No limit. Saturated fats are critical for

good health

Fats should be the main macronutrient

with predominantly saturated fats from
animal tissues, butter or ghee

Cholesterol

Important for hormone production,

production of bile salts, healing and
repair, protection against cancer; very
low levels of cholesterol (120140mg/dl) are associated with cancer,
intestinal diseases, violence, depression
and suicide; For women at any age,
and for men over 60, higher cholesterol
levels are associated with longevity

Dietary cholesterol viewed as healthy;

cholesterol is necessary for the body to
perform many vital functions

Starchy carbohydrates

Can be included in the diet. Should be

well cooked and consumed with a fat,
like butter

Recommends organic starchy roots,

tubers and other safe starches;
chestnuts

Carbohydrates

Some carbohydrate in the diet is

Consume moderate portions of starchy

necessary. Avoid refined carbohydrates

tubers, roots, fruits, and other

vegetables in conjunction with fats;
does not allow chemically processed
carbohydrates

Processed foods

No industrially processed foods; eat

liberally of foods prepared by artisan
processors (lacto-fermented foods and
beverages, naturally cured meats,
cheese, sourdough bread)

Does not allow chemically or

industrially processed carbohydrates;
encourages naturally processed foods
such as lacto-fermented foods and
drinks

Salt

Very important; adults need at least 1

teaspoons per day; we consumed up to
3 teaspoons per day in the past

Does not recommend table salt;

recommends sea salt or pink salt,
which contain minerals and less
sodium chloride. Care should also be
taken to consume enough iodine

Chocolate

Not recommended

Dark chocolate viewed as an

indulgence with some pros and cons

Coffee/Tea

Not recommended

Allowed for people who tolerate it

well. Coffee can sometimes cause
issues and should be avoided by some
people

Alcohol

Alcohol,wine and unpasteurized beer

in moderation with meals

Alcohol is also viewed as being in a

gray area where moderation is key and
complete avoidance is sometimes
beneficial

Pregnancy diet

Nutrient-dense diet, rich if fat-soluble

vitamins, extremely important to
ensure the health of the next generation

Recommends the same balance of high

fat diet, plants, carbs, and proteins
consistent with Paleo Dietary
Guidelines, with emphasis on organ
meats, saturated fats, bone broths, and
nutrient density

Generic low-carb/keto
Paleo
Low
Variable; low to medium.
Typically weight loss (although there are Better health (sometimes this includes
Ultimate goal
exceptions)
weight loss)
Yes, since the tiny amount of carbohydrate
Is soy sauce (containing wheat) allowed?
No, since wheat is a gut irritant.
is negligible.
Is canola oil (containing lots of Omega-6
No, since Omega-6 fats are inflammatory
Yes, since it has no carbs.
fats) allowed?
and unhealthy.
Are sweet potatoes (containing significant
Yes, since they are full of nutrients and do
No, since they have carbs.
amounts of carbohydrate) allowed?
not contain any toxins or gut irritants.
No; soy is full of inflammatory Omega-6
Is tofu (containing soy) allowed?
Yes, since it has few carbs.
fats and other problems.
Is dairy allowed?
If its full-fat, to minimize carbs.
Maybe, if you personally tolerate it well.
Carbohydrate level